During Abraham’s time, four kings, including Amraphel, king of Shinar, fought against the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah and three other kings (Genesis 14:1–3, 8–9). Shinar was ruled by a king that Abraham fought. Babylon and Babylonia both derive their names from Babel, which means “confusion.” As punishment for the people’s wickedness, God confused their language, and thus the land of Shinar earned the name of “Babel” or “Babylon” (Genesis 11:5–9). Genesis 10:10 mentions that Nimrod, a descendant of Ham, built “Babylon, Uruk, Akkad and Kalneh, in Shinar.” A plain in Shinar was the site chosen to construct the notorious Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1–4). Shinar was the location of the Tower of Babel. In certain passages, some versions of the Bible translate the word for “Shinar” as “Babylonia” for clarity’s sake. The land of Shinar is referenced eight times in the Old Testament (Genesis 10:10 11:2 14:1, 9 Joshua 7:21 Isaiah 11:11 Daniel 1:2 Zechariah 5:11), always in connection to the geographical location of Babylonia.
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